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AN ADDRE^S^ 



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DELIVERED BEFORE 



THE BIBLE SOCIETY 



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THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRT 



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March 11th, 1835; 



AND PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF^F 



THE SOCIETY. 



BY HENRY L. PINCKNEY, ESQ. 

Member of Congress from South Carolina. 



RICHMOND: 

PRINTED BY T. W. WHITE. 
1835. 



AN ADDRESS 



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DELIVERED BEFORE 



THE BIBLE SOCIETY 



OF 



THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 



March 11th, 1835; 



AND PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF 



THE SOCIETY. 



BY HENRY li. PINCKNEY, ESQ 

Member of Congress from South Carolina. 



RICHMOND: 

PRINTED BY T. W. WHITE. 
1835. 



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University of Virginia, March 11th, 1835. 
Dear Sir, 

We take pleasure in communicating to you the following Resolu- 
tion, of the Bible Society of the University of Virginia. 

Resolved, — That a vote of thanks be given to the Hon. H. L. Pinck- 
ney, for the eloquent and appropriate address, delivered by him, this 
afternoon, before the Bible Society of the University of Virginia, and 
that a copy of the same be requested for publication. 

We earnestly solicit your compliance with the request of the Society, 
and are, dear Sir, 

With the highest regard, Yours, &c. 

G. W. Trueheart, 
G. G. Minor, 
Arch'd. Cary, 
D. W. Johnson, 
H. B. Tomlin, 
T. T. Bouldin, 
R. T. Brown, 
F. S. Sampson, 
To H. L. Pinckney, Esq. 



Committee, 



Charlottesville, March 13th, 1835. 

Gentlemen, 
I beg you to accept my thanks for the Resolution of the Bible So- 
ciety, which you have done me the honor to communicate ; and in re- 
ply to your request for the publication of the address, I have only to say, 
that as I delivered it upon the principle of duty, so the same principle 
induces me to place it at your disposal, if you deem it of the least service 
to the great and good work of the diifusion of Christianity throughout 
the world. 

With my best wishes for the success of your Society, and your indi- 
vidual welfare here and hereafter, 

I remain your friend and servant, 

H. L. Pinckney. 



\ 



/ / 



ADDRESS. 



The occasion which convenes us, is of no ordinary character. It 
has no connection with the glare of battle, or the strife of party. We 
come to weave no garland for a conqueror's brow, nor to inflame the 
rancor of popular prejudice or passion. Nor do we meet to recount the 
distinguished civil and political privileges we possess ; or to eulogize the 
free and happy institutions under which we live ; or even to while away 
an hour by gathering flowers in the fair fields of literature. No, my 
friends, we are assembled for a far higher and nobler purpose. We are 
met to commune with each other upon the wonderful work of man's 
redemption ; to celebrate the glorious achievements of the Prince of 
Peace ; to rehearse the precious and inestimable religious blessings we 
enjoy ; and to impress upon our hearts the solemn duty of extending 
them to the remotest portions of the globe. 

Permit me to thank you, gentlemen, for having invited me to address 
you upon this exalted and delightful theme. However little I may have 
deserved this honor, I have found it a source of unmingled pleasure. It 
has caused me to visit this ancient and renowned commonwealth — the 
honored mother of an honored race — whose civil and military glory em- 
blazons the annals of the Union — whose soil is the birthplace of genius — 
whose air is the atmosphere of freedom. In pressing her soil, I feel that 
I stand upon consecrated ground. I feel that I not only walk amongst 
the tombs of the illustrious dead, but that I have entered the region of 
living greatness. Now my untravelled heart goes in sacred pilgrimage 
to Mount Vernon; and now it turns, with classic reverence, to the phi- 
losophic shades of Montpelier. Now my imagination dwells, with 
melancholy pleasure, upon the monuments of departed greatness that 
surround me ; and now it turns its eager gaze on those who still sustain 
the character of this proud republic ; and, as I think of the past, and 
contemplate the present — as I muse at the graves of your Henrys, and 
your Pendletons, and hear the voice and imbibe the spirit of your Taze- 
wells and your Leighs — I feel that I am indeed in Virginia, and that I 
have come to enkindle the flame of Christianity upon the altar of pat- 
riotism, and in the very temple of liberty itself. And it has brought me 
to this venerable University, identified with the name of Jefferson, whose 



name is identified with all that is glorious in the independence, all that is 
precious in the freedom, — all that is valuable, and exalted, and endearing, 
in the republican institutions of our country. How honored am I, to 
stand in such a place, and upon such an occasion as the present ! How 
delightful to visit this institution — this distinguished seat of science and 
philosophy — the prolific nursery of future statesmen, orators, and schol- 
ars — the alma mater of the Randolphs, the Marshalls, and the Tylers, 
who are still to illustrate and adorn the Virginia character, and to main- 
tain the, principles of constitutional liberty in this great confederacy of 
republics ! And, above all, how delightful to behold, in such an institu- 
tion, " like an apple of gold in a picture of silver," a Christian Society, 
wisely preferring the knowledge of God to all the knowledge of the 
schools, and justly estimating all human honor and distinction as utter 
idleness and vanity, when compared with the transcendent and trans- 
porting hope " set before them in the gospel !" 

And here, let me ask, why is it that there is not a similar society in 
every University in America? Or, why is it that the Bible is not inclu- 
ded in the scheme of education in all our colleges ? Why are our youth 
left entirely to themselves on the great subject of religion ? Why is all 
other knowledge imparted, except that which is the most important? Is 
the mind of more value than the heart, or the acquisition of learning than 
the virtuous regulation of the life ? Is there no instruction but in the 
struggles of ambition, or no enticement but in blood-stained fields? Is 
there no truth but the revolting record of human crime and suffering? 
No wisdom but politics ? No philosophy but metaphysics ? No poetry 
but profanity ? No ethics but scholastic rules ? Shall our youth be only 
imbued with secular literature;, and is there nothing in the sacred vol- 
ume that can enlarge their understandings, elevate their imaginations, or 
refine their taste? Is there a history more authentic or instructive — a 
fictitious narrative more interesting or attractive — a system of philoso- 
phy more profound — or of morality more pure ? Is it not the fount from 
which orators derive their imagery, and poets their inspiration? Do we 
not live in a Christian land, and breathe, as it were, the very atmosphere 
of Christianity ? Is it not interwoven in the very elements of our so- 
ciety, in all the customs and institutions of our country, and does it not 
enter essentially into the very texture of our laws, and all the operations 
of our government ? Without its purifying and restraining influence, 
would not liberty degenerate into licentiousness, regulated society into 
the wildest anarchy, and vice and immorality overspread the land ? Is 
it not all important to our country, then, even in a civil and political 
point of view, that those who are to be the future legislators and rulers 
of the land, should be taught to legislate and govern in the fear of God ? 
Is that book beneath the dignity of a college which enlightened the minds 
and guided the lives of an Edwards, a Ramsay, and a Rush ; or unwor- 






thy the attention of American students, which constituted the pride of 
Wirt, and elicited the eulogy of the accomplished Jones ? But my limit 
forbids me to descant upon this topic. You, gentlemen, in binding the 
gospel to your hearts, and making it " the man of your counsel," have 
set an example well worthy of imitation ; and the day, I trust, is not far 
distant, when there will be multitudes of American youth, in all our 
colleges, whose minds, like yours, will be imbued with " the knowledge 
that cometh from above '" whose hearts, like yours, will find more 
melody in the harp of Zion, than in all the profane poets of the age ; who 
will learn, like Milton, to drink of the waters of Siloa's brook ; who 
will love, like Newton, to " look through nature up to nature's God; M 
who, like Locke, as they explore the arcana of the human, will bow with 
submission to the infinite wisdom of the eternal mind ; or who, should 
they ever be elevated to judicial stations, will learn, like Hale, to em- 
bellish the ermine with the beauty of religion, — and to add to the dignity 
and learning of the Judge, the sublime philosophy of the gospel, and the 
practical piety of the Christian ! 

Ceasing this digression, then, let me come directly to the object of our 
meeting — the propagation of the Bible throughout the world — and what 
a theme is this ! How sublime and interesting ! How vast and com- 
prehensive ! To do justice to such a subject — embracing so boundless a 
field, and involving so many and such important considerations, is neces- 
sarily impossible in the brief space to which I have restricted this address. 
Permit me, then, to offer you only a few general views in relation to this 
noble enterprise, and to offer them, rather as subjects for reflection to 
yourselves, than with any intention on my part to illustrate them in 
detail. 

Why is it, then, that the Bible should be diffused throughout the 
world? What has yet been accomplished respecting the great work 
of the universal conversion of the human race ? And what motives or 
prospects have we to stimulate our ardor, or increase our efforts, in this 
sacred cause ? 

The Bible should be diffused, in the first place, because of its unques- 
tionable truth, and paramount authority, as a divine revelation. Shall 
I demonstrate this position by a regular argument, or array of testimony 
on the subject ? No : for assuredly, upon such an occasion, and before 
such an assemblage, it would be idle and superfluous. If there be any 
thing true in history, or attested by evidence, it is, beyond all others, 
the divine origin of the Bible. Sceptical, indeed, must he be, who can 
recall the life and ministry of our blessed Saviour, and the miracles that 
accompanied the introduction and progress of the gospel, without ac- 
knowledging that it was the immediate work, as it is certainly the best 
gift, of God, — and that, as such, it is rightfully entitled to the universal 
and grateful obedience of all his intelligent creation. It is true that 



8 

fools have attempted to ridicule, and infidels to undermine it ; but where 
is the assailant that has not been refuted — the sophistical reviler that has 
not repented and recanted ? Where is the prophecy that has not been 
fulfilled, or that is not evidently in the progress of accomplishment ? 
Where is the representation in Scripture that has not been sustained and 
illustrated by some corresponding occurrence in the world ? or who can 
behold the constant and increasing propagation of the gospel, without 
feeling and realizing that it is, indeed, the " arm of the Lord," overturning 
the thrones and principalities and powers of his enemies, and that that 
system of religion must be true, and must be divine, which thus goes on, 
and will continue to go on, with augmented energy and rapidity, con- 
quering all the other systems in the world, until there shall be but one 
God and one people, " and he whose right it is to reign, shall be king of 
nations, as he is king of saints !" 

The Bible should be diffused, in the second place, because of its in- 
trinsic excellence, and its great influence upon the conduct of men and 
the condition of society. But who can describe the excellency of the 
gospel? Who can catch the colors of the rainbow, or portray the splen- 
dor of the noonday sun? If we regard it simply as a code of laws for 
the temporal regulation of society, where can we find any thing compar- 
able to its wisdom, its justice, and benevolence, or so admirably adapted 
to ensure the highest dignity, and the true happiness of man ! Or if 
we regard it as a scheme of government, where shall we find one in 
which authority and affection are so beautifully blended, in which justice 
and mercy so emphatically embrace each other, or in which the penalties 
of vice are so sweetly commingled with the rewards of virtue, that the 
heart is irresistibly attracted by its loveliness, forgets the principle of 
duty in the impulse of affection, and obeys strictly and implicitly, not so 
much from the obligation to obey, as because it finds its own felicity in 
perfect conformity to the laws of God ! Or if we regard it as a system 
of morality, who can adequately delineate its equity and purity, not only 
regulating, as it does, the external or visible deportment of men, but 
operating, powerfully and directly, upon the thoughts of the mind, and 
the feelings of the heart ; cleansing and purifying that Augaean fountain 
of iniquity ; causing men not only to act correctly, but from correct and 
conscientious motives ; not only to conduct themselves honorably, hu- 
manely, and uprightly, but to possess within themselves, the living prin- 
ciples of honor, integrity, and charity ', and thus creating, as it were, a 
beautiful and harmonious correspondence between the outward and the 
inward man — between the external actions of the life, and the internal 
regulation of the heart! Such, and so excellent, is the Bible, even 
when considered simply in reference to the temporal interests of man — 
the wisest code of laws — the best imaginable scheme of government — 
the most perfect system of morality — embracing as it does, every thing 



/ 



9 



calculated to avert evil and produce good — enjoining and promoting 
every thing that can render individuals or communities wise, virtuous, 
and happy, and forbidding and proscribing every thing that tends to 
render them unhappy and degraded. But if such be the vast importance 
of the Bible, even as regards the temporal welfare of the human race, 
what shall we say of its priceless value in relation to their future and 
eternal destiny ? Who can speak its praises in this aspect of its charac- 
ter? Who do justice to its transcendent beauty and sublimity as a sys- 
tem of religion ? Shall I compare it with any other system that either 
now exists, or has ever existed, amongst men ? Shall I contrast it with 
the follies and impurities of the Roman and Grecian mythology, or with 
the wretched imposture and sensual abominations of the Koran ! or the 
idle and fabulous tales of the Magi or the Genii ! or the debasing idolatry 
and revolting cruelty of the Vedas or the Zend ! or any other of the in- 
numerable devices and inventions which have peopled the heavens with 
imaginary gods, and filled the earth with the miserable victims of super- 
stition and fanaticism? No: the religion of Jesus Christ, like the 
heaven from which it descended, stands alone in its own unapproachable 
purity and splendor — like the God who gave it, as high above all the 
false religions of the earth, as He does, on the throne of the universe, 
above all graven images and senseless idols. Who then should under- 
take to describe it, in all its simplicity and majesty, in all its godlike 
wisdom, and its godlike love ? Who is there that understands, or feels 
it, as he should ? Who is there that truly comprehends, in all its depth 
and breadth, the perfect holiness of the divine law, or the heinous sinful- 
ness of sin? Who is there that realizes, fully and distinctly, in his own 
mind and heart, the helpless and hopeless condition of a fallen world — 
the tremendous wrath of an offended God — or the unspeakable and 
unending anguish of " the worm that never dies, and the fire that is 
never quenched?" Above all, who is there that comprehends, or feels, 
as he ought, the goodness that pitied and the arm that saved us — or who 
really understands all that is embraced in " the unsearchable riches of 
Christ 5 ' — or who loves and adores, as he ought, the incarnate mystery 
that bore our sins upon the tree ? In one word, who is there that com- 
prehends completely, all that is embraced in the happiness of heaven and 
the misery of hell — in that " eternal and exceeding weight of glory " 
which is prepared for the redeemed of the Lord, upon the one hand, and 
that unending despair, that still increasing agony of self-condemnation 
and remorse, which awaits those, in " the blackness of darkness " for- 
ever, who shall be driven from his presence ! If there be any such iri f 
this assembly, let him and him alone, undertake to describe, (what even' 
" the angels themselves desire to look into,") the wondrous redemption 
of our apostate race, through the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God : or, 
in other words, let him delineate the excellence of the Christian religion. 
2 



V 



10 



I shall not attempt it. The theme is too high for me. My mind is lost 
in the immensity of the subject : imagination shrinks beneath its over- 
powering splendor : and all that I can do is to admire, and adore, and 
love ! 

And is it any wonder, then, that a system so excellent — so admirably 
adapted to promote our best interests on earth, and to ensure our eternal 
felicity hereafter — should exercise an important influence upon civil so- 
ciety ? No, the only wonder is, that its influence is not far more power- 
ful and extended than it is. But it may be asked, in what does this 
influence consist — where or how is it exhibited — and by what rule or 
standard shall we ascertain its existence, or determine its effects? Does 
any one really propound these questions ? Then to him I reply, it con- 
sists in every thing we see around us — in the conduct of individuals, and 
the character of nations. And, to illustrate this remark, let us go to an 
individual first — then to a community — then to the universe at large — 
for it is by a regularly ascending series of this kind, that the influence of 
the Bible can be most vividly seen, and distinctly traced, operating, as it 
does, upon society, like a pebble upon the surface of a lake, producing 
one at first, and then a multitude of circles, until its agitating power per- 
vades the whole. Take the case of an individual, then ! Has he aban- 
doned a career of carelessness and vice? Has he thrown away his idols, 
forsaken his sinful habits, and flown from the " avenger of blood," to the 
" city of refuge ?" Has he learned to love God supremely, and his fel- 
low creatures as himself? Has he become courteous and humane — 
amiable and meek in his temper and deportment — active and enterpriz- 
ing in works of piety and benevolence? Is he humble in prosperity — 
patient in adversity — grateful for mercies, and submissive to afflictions — 
knowing that he has no abiding city here, and looking forward, with 
humble hope and faith, to that mansion of bliss, and crown of joy, which 
the Saviour hath prepared for those who are "faithful to the end?" 
This is the influence of Christianity upon the heart of an individual : and 
oh, who would not that his heart and life should be regulated by such a 
heavenly influence as this ? Now take a nation — our own, for example 
— for, thanks to the great governor of nations, ours is the one, above all 
others, on which the character of the Bible may be said to be written, as 
with the brightness of a sunbeam. What is it that has raised her to the 
proud position that she occupies ? What is it that has given us a repub- 
lican form of government — mild and equal laws — and the great princi- 
ples of civil and religious liberty ? What is it that has not only made 
this Union the home of the happy and the asylum of the oppressed, but 
*has studded it so beautifully and brightly, as with moral stars, with 
literary, charitable, and religious institutions ? In one word, what has 
made it, emphatically, ImmanueFs land, and placed it, like a city on a 
hill, for the example and admiration of other portions of the globe? 






11 

What but the genius of Christianity — the purifying, enlightening, eleva- 
ting influences of the gospel ? And now, look abroad upon the world, 
and survey the immeasurable difference between Christian and heathen 
lands, not only in arts and sciences, in literature and refinement, but in 
all the qualities and attributes that dignify and adorn our nature, and 
you behold the Bible in a still more commanding and impressive exhibi- 
tion of its power ; as the splendor of a palace appears still more gorgeous 
when contrasted with the miserable hovels of the poor, or virtue, still 
more virtuous when surrounded by an atmosphere of vice. And oh, 
when we cast our eyes abroad, and behold the utter desolation of so large 
a portion of the globe, and the myriads of human beings who are still 
groping their way through darkness to destruction, how should we thank 
God that the light of revelation blazes in noontide splendor here, and that 
our country stands, like an oasis in the desert, a light and a landmark in 
the dreary wilderness of the universe, by which others may be enlight- 
ened and directed in the path of life. And how should we feel ourselves 
called upon, in gratitude to Him, not only to spread and perpetuate the 
spirit of Christianity at home, but to diffuse its heavenly influence far 
and wide : not only to keep our own light burning and shining stronger 
and brighter in our own favored land, but while we rekindle and replen- 
ish the sacred fire amongst ourselves, to extend its enlightening rays 
and vivifying warmth to the benighted and perishing portions of the 
globe ! 

The Bible should be diffused, in the third place, then, because it is our 
main dependence for the moral and religious renovation of the world. 
In vain should we make any other efforts, or organize any system of 
moral machinery, unless it be established on the broad basis of the Bible. 
It is not therefore that I undervalue, or would disparage, any of the other 
religious enterprises of the day, that I insist on the pre-eminent claims of 
the Bible cause — no : far from it, for no one can approve or admire them 
more highly than myself — but because I conceive that, without the co-op- 
eration of the Bible, they would be shorn of half their energy, while with 
it, as their foundation or substratum, they constitute a beautiful and har- 
monious system, acting and reacting on each other, reciprocally strength- 
ening and promoting one another, and producing, by their united power, 
a constant and increasing improvement in the moral condition of society. 
Every one, therefore, who wishes well to the cause of Ihe Redeemer — 
who desires that Tracts should really prove messengers of love and 
mercy — that Sabbath Schools should really prove nurseries of the church, 
and gardens of the Lord — or that the missionary system should really 
prove the great moral instrument by which the whole world is to be en- 
lightened and converted — must perceive the propriety of sustaining the 
Bible cause, as the best, and indeed the only effective method of sustain - 
ing them. Before a Christian audience, 1 deem it unnecessary to fortify 



V 



12 



so plain a proposition. The slightest reflection must render it perfectly 
apparent, that, as the great object of all our religious enterprises is the 
conversion and salvation of mankind, so the Bible must necessarily con- 
stitute a very prominent and essential part of our scheme of operations — 
or what would be the consequence? Why we should exhibit a most 
singular and ridiculous anomaly ! We should be diffusing commentaries 
on Christianity, but not Christianity itself — expositions of the laws of 
God, but not the Divine code itself. We should be persuading men to 
be converted, without giving them the religion we wish them to adopt — 
entreating them to be saved, without putting in their hands the very 
scheme of salvation to which we wish them to flee for refuge — urging 
and exhorting them to be reconciled to God, without giving them the very 
word of God itself, its own best commentator and expositor, the most 
terrible of all denouncers, the most captivating and affectionate of all per- 
suaders. And of this, the consequence naturally and inevitably would 
be, that as no edifice can stand except upon an adequate and substantial 
basis, so all the other operations of the church, unsupported by the Bible, 
however able, or systematic, or expensive, would fail of the desired re- 
sult, and most probably be abandoned in despair. No: give the Bible 
to the people — dififu.se it as widely and extensively as possible — and then 
all other efforts, whether published or spoken, whether from the pulpit 
or the press, in the form of Tracts or through the voices of our mission- 
aries, will come in naturally, and they will all " work together," and 
efficiently, " for good." But, stop the circulation of the Bible, and we 
should soon find that the most potent instrument in the work of God, is 
his own blessed Word, and that, without it, all human labors and produc- 
tions are comparatively vain. Let us determine to sustain it, then, as 
the main pillar of the noble system which has been so wisely organized, 
and is so happily operating, for the moral and religious renovation of 
society ! 

It is incumbent upon us, also, to diffuse the Bible, because it is the 
express and imperative injunction of our Saviour himself. And ought 
not our love of Him, to render obedience a source of pleasure? Ought 
we not to regard it as a high and honorable privilege, to be co-workers 
with God himself, in the sublime and holy work of the redemption of the 
world ? But I will not enlarge upon this topic. He who is impelled by 
love, needs not duty to incite him, and he who is destitute of the one, will 
scarcely be governed by the other. I pass on, therefore, to the only re- 
maining reason which I intend to offer for the dissemination of the gos- 
pel ; and that is, 

That it is not only our duty, as Christians, but that we are bound to 
diffuse it, by every principle of common philanthropy and charity, as 
men. Shall I be taunted with the trite objection that we have work 
enough at home ? To this it might be sufficient to reply that the do- 



13 

mestic field is abundantly supplied, and that we have not even the shadow 
of a pretext for withholding our sympathy from others. But even were 
it otherwise, this was not the spirit of the Saviour, nor should it be the 
spirit of those who profess to follow in his footsteps. There was nothing 
selfish or exclusive, about Him. On the contrary, he not only cheer- 
fully left his home, the bosom of his Father, and the glory of his throne 
in heaven, but condescended to take the form of man, and endured a life 
of poverty and suffering, and died a death of exquisite agony and shame, 
that by his stripes we might be healed, and by his poverty enriched — 
that by his blood we might be cleansed from our sins, and through his 
death be made partakers of everlasting life. Nor was it the principle or 
the conduct of the primitive apostles. It is to them, under God, that 
we, even we, are indebted, for all the religious blessings we enjoy. Had 
they disregarded the injunction, cc Go ye into all the world, and preach 
my gospel to every creature," the world might still have continued in 
Pagan darkness. Jove might still have sat upon Olympus, and Neptune 
ruled the ocean with his trident. Thor and Woden might still have 
continued Saxon gods — the fires of the Druids might never have been 
extinguished, even in England — and we ourselves, the ignorant descen- 
dants of an ignorant ancestry, might now be honoring idols with infernal 
rites, or worshipping at the altar of " the unknown God." Let us then 
catch the spirit of our Saviour, and imitate the conduct of his first disci- 
ples. A world lying in wickedness, demands all our efforts to redeem 
it. Human misery and vice not only exist, but abound, in every coun- 
try, and under every, even the best and wisest, form of social polity. 
How are these evils to be remedied? How are the ignorant to be en- 
lightened, the vicious reformed, and the miserable and oppressed to be 
made free and happy ? Shall we simply recommend alterations and im- 
provements in the forms of government? or rely upon the efficacy of 
mere systems of morality ? or content ourselves with devising plans for 
the abolition of pauperism, and the suppression of vice ; for the diffusion 
of education, and the encouragement of virtue ? All these are unques- 
tionably valuable and important in themselves, (and far be it from me 
to undervalue the labors of moral or political reformers) but the " one 
thing needful" would be wanting yet — and that is, the law of God, that 
regulates the heart. " Out of the heart are the issues of life :" and, 
therefore, however excellent the forms of government may be under 
which men may live, or however well arranged their systems of civil 
polity and social order, it is all of no avail unless their consciences are 
enlightened, and their conduct regulated, by the laws of God. And if 
this be true of civilized, and even of Christian countries, what shall be 
said of those who have neither reason nor revelation — who have no gov- 
ernment but tyranny, no order but oppression, no laws but blood — whose 
gods are wood, whose piety is murder, whose common customs are atro- 



14 

cious Crimes ! And if this subject appeals strongly to men of common 
humanity and common sense, who, even without reference to religion, 
pity the degradation, and desire the amelioration, of their fellow-men, 
how much more powerfully does it appeal to the hearts and consciences 
of Christians ? Let us buckle on our armor, then, and redouble our ex- 
ertions in this holy cause ! It is our peculiar work, and we must do it, 
or it will never be accomplished. Let us not ask whether it is expen- 
sive or laborious; whether it requires self-sacrifices and denials; or 
whether it can be effected within a given time — but let us only remem- 
ber that as none are really Christians but those who possess the spirit of 
Christ, so none but those who earnestly endeavor to promote His king- 
dom upon earth, can expect to " sit down with Him, in his kingdom in 
Heaven," in that great day when " he shall make up his jewels." Let 
us determine, then, to diffuse the gospel throughout the world — where- 
ever a hand can be found to carry, or a heart willing to receive it. Tt is 
this, and this alone, that develops the moral and intellectual faculties of 
man, and raises him, emphatically, to the true dignity of his nature. 
Tt is this, and this alone, that can produce order from chaos, and beauty 
from confusion. It is this, and this alone, that will introduce learning, 
encourage industry, enlarge the boundaries of science, and bring the 
remotest nations into intimate intercourse and fraternal union with each 
other. It is this, and this alone, that can carry light into darkness, give 
liberty for bondage, mild and equal laws for the most grinding tyranny, 
and cause government to be administered for the happiness of the gov- 
erned. It is this, and this alone, that can abolish all cruelty and bar- 
barity, expel all vice and crime, and establish the reign of virtue and 
benevolence. And it is this, and this alone, that can unite the nations 
of the earth in the bonds of love ; eradicate the spirit of conquest and the 
lust for war; and substitute in their stead the benignant spirit of univer- 
sal peace. Above all, as it is the gospel alone that can liberalize, en- 
lighten, and refine the mind, so it is this alone that can purify, and 
regenerate, and save the soul. It is this alone that can disclose the true 
character and glorious attributes of Jehovah, or reveal to benighted na- 
tions that adorable and spotless Lamb, " who taketh away the sin of the 
world " — or bring them in sweet subjection to that Holy Spirit whose 
peculiar office it is to " convince of sin, of righteousness, and of judg- 
ment," and to impress the truth with " power and demonstration " on 
the heart. It is this alone that " brings life and immortality to light :" 
that exhibits the sufferings and death, the resurrection and ascension, of 
our crucified, risen, and ascended Lord : that proclaims " the only name 
given among men, whereby they can be saved;" and marks out " the 
way" of life, to all who choose to follow it, through that atoning blood 
which was " shed for many, for the remission of sins," and which is 
" the power of God unto salvation" to all who believe. It is this alone 



15 

that can "create new hearts, and renew right spirits" among men; pro- 
cure pardon tor sin, and peace with God ; give rest to the " weary and 
heavy laden ;" make the blind to see, and the lame to walk ; cleanse the 
leprous from their spots ; heal the sick, and raise the dead. It is this 
alone, in one word, that can make men acquainted with God, and with 
themselves ; and it is this alone, therefore, that can tear the heathen from 
their idols, and, by converting all nations to " the truth, as it is in 
Jesus," establish, universally, his kingdom upon earth. How ardently 
should we labor, then, for this glorious object ! How are we called 
upon by every motive, human and divine ; by the glory of God, and 
the best interests of man ; by the agony and passion of our Saviour 
— by the tears he wept, and the blood he shed — by our own hopes 
of salvation, and the cries and supplications of a perishing world — to dis- 
seminate the gospel. It is, indeed, the light of the world, and the only 
light. No other can illuminate the mind, or vivify the soul. How dark, 
and desolate, and dreary, are all those portions of the globe on which the 
" sun of righteousness " has never shone ! How do vice and immorality 
overrun them, like a flood, sweeping thousands of victims every moment 
to destruction, or like ravenous beasts, who rush from their coverts with 
the shades of night, and prowl in darkness for their prey. But let " the 
Sun of Righteousness arise, with healing in his beams " upon them, and 
every nation will become a garden rich as Ophir, beautiful as Lebanon, 
teeming with life, and redolent of joy : or, as the majestic orb of day, 
springing from the chambers of the East, goes on his course rejoicing in 
his strength, so will new born nations, bursting from darkness into mar- 
vellous light, go on rejoicing in that glorious liberty with which the 
Redeemer will have made them free! — But I have already dwelt too 
long, perhaps, upon this topic — and, therefore, 

Having given "a reason for the hope that is in us," and for our ear- 
nest desire to impart it, if possible, to all our fellow-men, let us now 
briefly inquire, what has yet been done in this great work of the evan- 
gelization of the world? 

All great works are the results of patient toil, and persevering zeal. 
The process of civilizing and evangelizing nations must necessarily be 
gradual. Mountains have to be removed, systems overthrown, habits 
and customs conquered, and, as it were, a new world created, of intellec- 
tual light and moral grandeur, out of the crude and chaotic elements of 
ignorance, prejudice, and superstition. Such, then, being the nature of 
the work, and the whole world the theatre of operations, let no one re- 
proach us that nothing has been done. This mighty enterprise is yet 
only in its infancy. But a few years ago, and it was utterly unknown. 
The church still remained locked in the sleep of ages. But suddenly 
the Spirit of the Lord came upon it, when it aroused from its apathy, 
like a strong man out of sleep, and putting forth all its energies, proceed- 



16 . 

ed valiantly, like an army with banners, to undertake the conquest of his 
enemies. And will any one now say, that, even in this little period, 
nothing has been done ? Is it nothing that hundreds of religious and be- 
nevolent associations have been formed, and that millions upon millions 
of Tracts and Bibles have been circulated both in our own and in foreign 
lands ? Is it nothing that the standard of piety has been elevated — that 
a spirit of holy love has been diffused — that countless revivals of religion 
have occurred — that the borders of Messiah's kingdom have been en- 
larged — and that a generous emulation has been excited amongst his 
churches, which shall do most still further to extend it? Is it nothing 
that millions are already enlisted in the Temperance Reform, and that 
the time may almost be calculated with precision when it will wave its 
peaceful banner over all our land? Is it nothing that the missionary 
spirit has been enkindled, and that an army of apostles has gone forth 
" to the isles of the sea," and the ends of the earth, bearing the standard 
of the cross, and willing to encounter martyrdom itself in the cause of 
the Redeemer? Is it nothing that the Indian has been civilized, and the 
desert made to "bloom and blossom as the rose?" Is it nothing that 
in many a region, such as Polynesia and Southern Africa for instance, it 
has changed the aspect of society, enlightening the rude, taming the fero- 
cious, reclaiming the profligate, expelling vice and instilling virtue, and 
literally verifying the prediction that " the lion and the lamb shall lie 
down together?" Is it nothing that hundreds of thousands of heathen 
have been converted, who will aid in the conversion of millions more? 
Is it nothing that barbarous practices have been arrested, and Christian 
customs introduced, in the very regions of barbarity ? Is it nothing that 
Christian churches have been established in the very midst of paganism, 
and that revelation blazes, in many and many an instance, on the very 
altars of idolatry ? Is it nothing that glorious things are now spoken of 
Zion where the name of the Redeemer was before unknown, and that 
there are now many cities of our God even in the kingdoms of darkness, 
and in the very countries of his enemies? Is all this nothing? It may 
be nothing to those who care nothing for religion ; but to those who love 
it, it is more than we expected, or had dared to hope. Why, if but one 
soul had been saved, it would have been a just source of gratulation : if 
but one church had been established, it would have richly rewarded all 
our efforts ; and if, at the end of a century, but one nation shall be Chris- 
tianized, it will more than repay the toils, and prayers, and sacrifices of 
a century. What then shall we say, when we survey the progress that 
has already been effected ; when we see, as we do, that the strong holds 
of the enemy have been broken — that the light of the gospel is actually 
shining, and shining brightly, in the dark places of the earth — that 
thrones are tottering, and temples crumbling, before the mighty and re- 
sistless power of the cross ? What, but that we thank God for what he 



17 

hath already wrought, and pray, and trust, that He will continue to bless 
the efforts of his people for the glory of his name? 

And now, my friends, what are our future prospects ? And what mo- 
tives have we to renewed exertions in this noble work? To these inqui- 
ries, your own hearts have already given the response. We have every 
thing to encourage, and nothing to deter us. The victories that have 
already been achieved, glorious as they are, are but harbingers of the 
still greater triumphs that await us. Prophecy foretold that Messiah 
should be " the desire of nations," and the prediction is fulfilled in the 
remarkable anxiety of nations to become acquainted with his gospel. 
Where is the arrival that does not bring us " glad tidings of great joy 5 ' 
in reference to its progress amongst the heathen ? Where the breeze 
that does not waft to our ears the prayers and praises of regenerated 
souls? Where the messenger that does not tell us of some new conquest 
of the cross — some new Pentecostal effusion of the Holy Spirit — and that 
more works and more laborers are wanted — and that the people every 
where are much more willing to receive the Word, than we are able to 
supply it? Evidently the Spirit of God is abroad upon the earth. He 
who inspires us to pray for the conversion of the world, has opened the 
hearts of the heathen to the impression of his truth, and made them 
" willing in the day of his power." A general and unprecedented agita- 
tion pervades the nations — and as the army of Joshua went forth, at the 
supernatural rustling of the tree, to conquer the enemies of Israel, so 
should the church redouble its exertions now that all the elements of 
universal regeneration are at work. Look where you will, and you 
behold the most inviting fields, and the most cheering and auspicious 
signs. This is, beyond all precedent, the age of inquiry, and reforma- 
tion, and improvement. Antiquity is no longer the shield of error. 
Nothing can now stand, either in politics or. religion, except upon the 
basis of its own utility and truth. The unnatural union between church 
and state, has been dissolved in France, and that gallant nation, our an- 
cient friend and ally, has not only made a decided approximation to our 
own principles of government, but now offers a most beautiful field for 
the philanthropic efforts of Christian America. The inquisition has 
been abolished in Spain, and that vile engine of religious despotism no 
longer disgraces this enlightened age. Commercial intercourse, more- 
over, is daily extending, not only amongst Christian nations, but 
amongst the Christian and other portions of the globe ; and the spirit of 
commerce is the handmaid of religion. The principles of Protestantism 
are spreading rapidly in France. The emancipation of Greece has 
opened her classic soil to the reception of the Bible. China is no longer 
locked up by a brazen wall, nor are her perishing multitudes averse to 
the voice of wisdom. Idolatry is every where giving way, and the min- 
isters of pollution are becoming priests and votaries of the living God, 
3 



18 

Let us then go on with redoubled ardor. The Protestant Society in 
Paris, and the British and Foreign Society in England, co-operate with 
the American in this noble work — and they constitute the lever that 
will move the world. Yes, my friends, the cause in which we are en- 
gaged is the cause of God, and it must succeed. Divine goodness has 
inspired, divine wisdom guides, and Almighty power will sustain it. 
The Bible will be carried throughout the habitable globe. Nor deserts — 
nor oceans — nor Alpine solitudes, nor Himalayan heights — will obstruct 
its progress. It will go, through polar ice and equatorial heat, wherever 
a soul may possibly be saved. And as it goes, it will go on victorious, 
like the sword of the Lord and of Gideon, carrying every thing before it. 
Error and delusion will vanish as the mists of morning before the rising 
splendor of the sun. The powers of darkness will recede, like spectres, 
before the bursting of " the day-spring from on high." False gods and 
their altars will fall together in the dust. The followers of Confucius, 
and Zoroaster, will " take up their cross, and follow Christ." The wan- 
dering Arab will sit and sing at Messiah's feet, and the deluded disciples 
of Mahomet, instead of going in painful pilgrimage to Mecca, will turn 
their penitent eyes to Calvary. The dark places of the earth will be 
enlightened, and the " habitations of cruelty" will become the abodes of 
love. Rivers will no longer roll with human blood, nor sacrificial fires 
be fed with human victims. Mothers will no longer destroy their inno- 
cent children, nor aged parents be immolated by their inhuman offspring. 
Marriage will be instituted in places where it is now unknown, and 
savage practices be supplanted by the virtuous institutions of the gospel. 
The cannibal of New Zealand will be humanized, and the Caffre and 
the Hottentot Cf clothed, and in their right minds." The descendants of 
Abraham will be gathered from the four quarters of the earth ; Jerusa- 
lem will arise and shine ; and the dejected Jordan roll his stream with 
joy. Barren climes will teem with life, and dreary deserts " blossom as 
the rose." Streams of salvation will run down the hills, and fertilize 
the plains. The Saviour himself will ride forth in the chariot of the 
everlasting gospel, f< conquering and to conquer." Nations will fall 
down before him, and mountains melt at his approach. And thus nation 
after nation will be converted, and empire upon empire conquered, and 
Christianity spread from clime to clime, and from pole to pole, until the 
final arrival of that blessed day, when the knowledge of the Lord shall 
literally " cover the earth, as the waters do the great deep" — when there 
shall be but one people, and one God — when the millennial day shall 
burst upon the earth, like a flood of glory from on high — when the trump 
of Jubilee shall sound — and countless millions of the redeemed shall ex- 
claim with rapture, " Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 

It is true, my friends, we may not live to witness the actual advent of 
that blessed period — but we may live, probably, to perceive its manifest 



19 

approach, and to behold Cf the stately steppings of the Lord" amongst 
the nations of the earth, as they become successively converted to the 
knowledge of his truth ; and, at all events, when our own lives shall 
draw to a close, and we shall approach nearer and nearer to the judgment 
bar, we shall have the consoling reflection, the delightful and animating 
consciousness, that we have done all that we could to introduce a lost and 
fallen world to an acquaintance with its Saviour : and that, as we hope 
for salvation ourselves, through faith in Him, so we have done all that 
we could to glorify Him, and to promote the best interests of our fellow 
men, by proclaiming His name, and spreading His salvation throughout 
the world. Let us then determine to continue faithful to our adorable 
Redeemer and his sacred cause. Let us realize the truth, the divinity, 
and the paramount authority of the Word of God. Let us realize its in- 
trinsic excellence, and its unspeakable importance to the welfare of 
society. Let us impress upon our hearts the duty, and the privilege of 
diffusing it throughout the world. And may you, and I, and all of us, 
so act, through life, as friends and co-workers with our blessed Lord, in 
promoting his kingdom upon earth, that when " our earthly house of this 
tabernacle shall dissolve," we may be received as " good and faithful 
servants" into " a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens :" 
where, " with angels and archangels, and the spirits of the just made 
perfect," we may unite in ascribing "praise and glory to Him who sit- 
teth on the throne, and to the Lamb" forever ! And with this heartfelt 
prayer for your present and eternal felicity, I now bid you, my friends, 
an affectionate farewell ! 










''&3&C 



Cable Address : <3L(o Post-office Address 

"Biblehouse, Newyorfc." ^ ^ p»\ Box B, Station D, 

American Bible Bocirtj, 

Bible House, Astor Place, 

IlEV. JOHN FOX, D.D., 1 _ x __ 

Rev. William I. Haven, D.D., l CorrcsponMno NEW lORK 

KEV. EDWARD P. INQEHSOLL, D D ( HtcrOarla. w»>™ 



T>>'nxur< r. 




DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION 

September 1, 1906. 

The visit of Mr. Elihu Root, the Secretary of State, to our sister 
South American Republics and the meeting of the Pan-American Conference 
in Rio Janeiro, have awakened a widespread interest in this country in 
our nearby neighbors. The American Bible Society has been quietly and 
unobtrusively weaving a bond of interest between these republics and the 
United States for more than forty years. Last year its forty-four South 
American representatives visited 1,129 towns and villages in South Amer- 
ica and circulated among the people 98,225 volumes of Spanish, Portu- 
guese, and other Scriptures. All of this work is under the care of two 
Agents, one residing in Rio Janeiro and the other in Buenos Ayres. 



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0J29 557 567 Q 



